A New Story
by absoluteleigh
Summary: Beginning at Angel Season 5.


"Yes, please send him to my voicemail. Hold the rest of my calls. I'm in the middle of a job interview!"

Wesley was tired of the new receptionist already. She constantly sent calls to the wrong office and was hopefully at taking accurate messages. Maybe if this applicant wasn't secretary material, she could be the new-new receptionist.

"I'm terribly sorry about that. Where were we? Oh, yes. What made you want to apply for this position?"

"Well, honestly, I want to get back closer to home. And this company seems to be a great stepping stone from college to career."

"Your resume says you studied psychology." Wesley pushed his glasses down the bridge of his nose to look closer at the girl's transcript. His eyebrows shot up.

"At Harvard?"

"Yes sir."

"So, please enlighten me as to how psychology relates to being a personal secretary?"

"Psychology can relate to all aspects of human life, Mr. Price."

"Yes, well." Wesley could hardly contain his scoff. He skimmed down her brief employment history. "So as of now you've worked as an administrative assistant for a construction company and a resident advisor at your university?"

"Yes sir." This girl's unwavering demeanor was beginning to make him uncomfortable.

"Why is that?"

"I'm only 22, Mr. Price." She smiled. "I spent college learning as much as I could. I know I've had little professional experience, but I can assure you I'm quite capable."

"I see." He shifted his glasses down his nose again. Her resume was very concise. He quickly skimmed down to her references typed near the bottom of the page. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You do realize one of your references is the person for who you will be assisting, do you not?"

"Yes sir." She smiled sweetly.

"And how do you know Angel?"

"He tried to kill me once."

Wesley blanched. This caused the girl to curl in her lips. He suspected she was trying to contain her laughter. He continued to peruse the document.

"You also list an Alexander Harris as well as a…Rupert Giles?"

"Yes sir." Her confidence wavered slightly.

Wesley exhaled loudly. "Mr. Giles is one of my colleagues, you know. If these references are fake, you picked the wrong company to apply for."

Her cheeks began to flush. "Not at all Mr. Price. Giles and I are quite close. In fact, it was him who encouraged me to come here."

Another heavy sigh. "Very well. Tell me what you think you can contribute to this company?"

She took a deep breath and steadied her composure. "I'm a survivor. That's what I do. Survive. I've been hunted by demons and vampires and goddesses. Oh, my. I survived the Hellmouth. I think I can handle myself."

This certainly peaked his interest. "And how do Angel and Mr. Giles play into all this?"

"My sister. Maybe you remember her? Buffy. The vampire slayer."

Wesley slammed the paper down and slumped down into his chair. "You might have told me at the beginning of this interview, Miss Summers."

"Hey. I thought you might have caught onto the last name. But it was more fun this way, don't you think? A nice ice breaker."

Her smirk was almost infectious. Almost.

"So are you here to apply for a job or make fun of me?"

Her humor faded. "No Mr. Price. I'm honestly here to further my training and offer my assistance to this company. I just don't want to live in my sister's shadow."

"Tell me how being a secretary would supplement your psychology 'training'?"

Dawn sighed. "This isn't something I'm supposed to reveal. But since you know from experience…I'm a watcher in training."

Wesley's eyes widened. "I didn't realize the new council had made into onto this side of the world yet."

"Giles went to Italy to meet with the few remaining council members who had fled there. He wanted to keep them from screwing up like the original council did. The opinions were mixed. Eventually there was a split and a few members came here to form their own government of sorts. Giles is an amazing watcher and an even more amazing leader."

Wesley felt a tinge of jealousy at the endearment of Giles. No one ever respected him enough as a watcher. Even Giles.

"Mr. Price, I know there was some tension between you and the council. I know they fired you. But Giles believes you could be a great asset to this new sect."

Wesley brightened. "He really said that?" He quickly straightened and cleared his throat. "I mean, uh, I'm not sure I have time for watcher's affairs anymore."

Dawn softened at his change of disposition. She never understood why all the scoobies had such contempt for him. He seemed like a very decent man.

"Now Miss Summers, I admire your courageous spirit, but the fact is we are in need of a secretary and personal assistant to Angel -"

"I type 95 words a minute, have an incredible attention to detail, I'm proficient with Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, PowerPoint, and OneNote, I have legible handwriting, take accurate and efficient notes, make amazing coffee, and have a bright, helpful phone voice." She took a deep breath and gave Wesley a big, hopeful smile.

"Sold. Let's take you up to HR and get your salary negotiated."

Looks like Wesley would have to learn to deal with the bad receptionist for a little while longer.


End file.
